A metal sorbent with an unbound complexing agent: polyethylenimine-bead cellulose

Abstract

A sorbent was prepared with branched polyethylenimine fixed on bead cellulose without chemical reaction. The “jack-in-the-box” effect was used by means of which a part of the originally adsorbed PEI remains, after treatment with strong acid, almost irreversibly fixed to cellulose. The sorbent contains 1.4–3.0 mmol N/g of dry matter and is able to bind some double-charged cations from acid solutions, both from buffered media (pH 2–4) and from hydrochloric acid (1–4 M).